Unbeaten Gunnar Nelson will headline his first UFC card on October 4 in Stockholm when he faces American Rick Story.

And the stoic Icelandic fighter, who fights out of Dublin, is hoping to be greeted like a hometown hero by his Scandinavian neighbours.

“It feels amazing,” the SBG man said. “I’m very happy and honoured to be headlining a show for UFC in Sweden, they’re obviously neighbours of Iceland. MMA has grown so much there over the years and we’ve been watching from Iceland.

“We’ve been looking up to them, they’ve done a lot of the things we want to do as far as legalising the sport. To be over there headlining a show is a dream.

“I think I’ve got a strong following over there. I know their main fighter, Alexander Gustafsson, has a good following in Iceland so hopefully it will be like a hometown crowd for me. Neighbouring countries usually stick together anyway.”

As for Story, arguably the biggest test for Gunni to date, Nelson acknowledged the toughness of his opponent but is still confident of having his hand raised in the Swedish capital.

He said: “I have seen Rick fight, even before I was with UFC I had watched him.

“He’s a tough guy, he’s a strong wrestler and he’s fought many of the top guys in the division. He’s a big test for anyone. Rick isn’t as great on the ground as he is on the feet, he may lack a bit of jiu jitsu but I’m sure he has worked on that.

“We’re all constantly evolving, but that doesn’t change the fact I think I’m going to beat him.

“I’m always excited to fight because I always have a couple of new tools. You add them new things to what you already had and you get the situation I’m in now, some things are really clicking together.”